Some of Aspetar’s medical staff and officials.
Doha: Heralding a new era of success, Aspetar, Orthopaedic, and Sports Medicine Hospital has positioned itself as a global leader in sports medicine with its state-of-the-art facilities, world-class research, and fabulous and unique services.
Its excellence in providing healthcare services to elite athletes is an extension of its successes over the past decade, and the hospital has become a shining face for the State of Qatar globally. Aspetar achieved exceptional achievements throughout 2022 assuming global leadership in various medical and scientific fields, excellence in research, and the development of first-of-its-kind treatment and surgical technics in the region. This has helped Aspetar being recognised as a leader by major medical and higher sports bodies nationally and internationally.
FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, the historic event, organised by Qatar concluded a full year of achievements for Aspetar as the facility provided comprehensive medical services to sports stars, led by a highly qualified medical staff, which was praised by the various participating countries and guests of FIFA. Aspetar was the only specialist sports medicine healthcare institution to provide athlete services to all 32 visiting teams, team delegations, and FIFA VIPs. Its services in the World Cup were characterised by three main parts. The first one was the conversion of the main hospital to a polyclinic to receive all requests, operating around the clock.
Second was the use of Aspetar’s medical staff, who work in clubs and sports federations in Qatar and as a part of the National Sports Medicine Program and provide their services in training centres as well as the hotels of participating delegations. The third part was the establishment of the recovery centre which was specifically designed to anticipate the needs of athletes with short turnaround times in between each match. This included the use of the latest recovery technology and spaces for treatment and active recovery for large groups.
In terms of external services provided by Aspetar to the participating teams and delegations, 52 medical staff were seconded from Aspetar during the tournament, with an average of more than 2,000 hours of physiotherapy, medical, nursing and massage therapy provided at the request of six teams participating in the tournament. During the tournament, 16 medical clinics were handed over to 16 visiting teams to be used during the World Cup, while more than 60 pieces of Aspetar’s equipment were loaned to training sites and hotels to support the visiting teams.
As for the scientific and research aspects, Aspetar, in cooperation with FIFA, conducted a research study on injuries and diseases during the World Cup, in addition to other research studies on brain and heart concussions to be used to make appropriate decisions in the upcoming world competitions. Aspetar’s participation in the Qatar 2022 World Cup carried positive imprints in many respects by having a great medical legacy in the service of global sports.
This year 2022, Aspetar achieved a new milestone, with the renewal of International Olympic Committee (IOC) accreditation as part of a network of global research centres in the field of athlete health and injury prevention, which include only 11 medical centres in the world. This confirms Aspetar’s global medical position as a leading centre in the field of sports medicine.
Also, it has been awarded the official Accreditation Canada Diamond Level Status. Re-accredited at Diamond Level until Nov 2024, and became the first healthcare organisation in the world to achieve a perfect score on Version 4 of the Qmentum International Standards.
